Tag: Ashley Yazdani

Agent Interview: Katie Bircher (Sara Crowe Literary)

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Welcome to our conversation with Katie Bircher, Associate Agent at Sara Crowe Literary. Katie may be a new agent, but she’s spent years shaping the conversation around picture books. As an editor and reviewer for The Horn Book, she helped define what makes a standout story. She’s also worked as a bookseller, freelance editor, and manuscript evaluator, bringing a wealth of experience to her role as an agent.

Now, as she builds her client list, Katie is shifting from evaluating picture books to championing them—using her deep storytelling instincts to help authors and illustrators create books that resonate. In this interview, we explore her journey from critic to advocate, what makes a picture book stand out in today’s crowded market, and the unique perspective she brings as an agent who has spent years deep in the world of kidlit.

Learn more about Katie here:
Sara Crowe Literary Website
Archive at The Horn Book

RVC: When you were a kid, what role did books play in your life? Were you a library kid, a bookstore kid, or something else entirely?

KB: I was a “books all the time” kid and would come back from either the library or the used bookstore with a huge stack. I would get in trouble for sneakily reading during class, at the table, or after lights out. I say “get in trouble,” but at one point my parents were hoping to open a children’s bookstore, so I don’t think they were all that mad about it. And clearly I come by my love of kids’ books honestly!

RVC: Good for you! Now, you studied Children’s Literature at Simmons University. What drew you to that, and how did it shape the way you think about picture books?

KB: I was originally a marine biology major in undergrad, and lasted about a year before my terrible math skills convinced me to switch to English lit. I remember telling my high school English teacher that I changed majors and she just laughed; it was so obviously where I should have been to begin with. Then I found myself reading middle-​grade and YA—especially YA fantasy—when I should have been doing my coursework. Eventually I realized I could actually work in children’s and YA books! I got excited, took a few additional classes in children’s books and child development before I graduated, and applied to Simmons.

The late Susan Bloom’s Simmons course on picture books was hugely influential. In one assignment, we read Molly Bang’s invaluable Picture This: How Picture Books Work and created our own limited-​palette picture books based on the principles in it. (Spoiler: It’s really hard!) In another, we analyzed, in-​depth, one spread each from one hundred picture books. Her course showed me both how magical the particular picture book alchemy of words and images can be and how deceptively difficult it is to achieve!

RVC: Sounds terrific!

KB: I also worked at the (deservedly) famous children’s bookstore Curious George in Cambridge’s Harvard Square for about five years, beginning when I started the Simmons MA program. Being surrounded by children’s books and people who LOVE them all day is, in itself, a fantastic education. Several of my co-​workers from that time have gone on to have careers as picture book creators.

RVC: Bookstores are great proving ground for kidlit creatives–no doubt about it. When reviewing picture books at The Horn Book, what was your process?

KB: Read the book many times, including out loud; look carefully at the illustrations; check for any information on the medium; consider whether the endpapers, case, gutters, etc. are used thoughtfully; take copious handwritten notes; type up and organize notes; try to make notes into a coherent review of about 150 words. Then it went on to fact-​checking and at least one round of revision. Sometimes revising involved talking through what I was trying to say with the other editors. Occasionally I would nominate an extra-​special book to receive a star, and then it would be read and discussed by the whole group.

RVC: Wow, thanks for explaining the process. Did you ever get to be part of the bigger award committees?

KB: I chaired the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award committee in 2018. Much of that process was similar, but on steroids—and with picture books only one of three categories! I commend and appreciate anyone who serves on book award committees, especially the ones with a ton of members or multi-​year commitments.

RVC: Were there ever books you personally loved but knew wouldn’t work for The Horn Book’s review standards? What makes a book a better fit for some venues than others?

KB: Yes—it taught me to dig into and articulate why I love a particular book. Is it really exceptionally crafted, or is it just that the book hits a sweet spot where some combination of my favorite topics, tropes, formats, authors, etc., intersect? A funny and sweet picture book about, say, a huggably cute cat character with ADHD getting distracted in ballet class (I just made that up) would be super appealing to me personally—but it also has to work in all these other storytelling and structural aspects. There’s also an element of whether a book is needed. I might note but give more grace about a structural flaw if a book reaches an underserved audience or authentically showcases an infrequently represented experience, because ultimately the goal is to get kids good books they need.

For most of the time I was at The Horn Book I worked on two different print publications: the Magazine, which reviews very selectively, and the dearly departed Guide, which had a much broader scope, so part of the process was determining whether a book made the cut to be featured in the mag. The 100-​year-​old Magazine is so distinct in character from SLJ, the Bulletin, Kirkus, or even the Guide, which have their own strong voices. You have to keep in mind the unique mission and audience of the publication.

RVC: What makes for a REALLY great picture book review?

KB: I love when the review complements the tone of the book itself—a funny review for a funny book, for example.

RVC: What’s one misconception people have about professional book reviews?

KB: People often find out you work in any kind of book-​related field and say, “Oh, it must be so great to read all day.” While I was at The Horn Book, there was definitely not time during the workday to read and write reviews! In addition to everything that goes into publishing a trade magazine and running a website, there’s also a lot of admin and editorial work in selecting and organizing the books, assigning them to reviewers, fact-​checking and editing reviews, tracking their status…

I think that’s true of the book world generally. In every job I’ve had in books—whether bookselling, working at The Horn Book, editing, or agenting—there’s just too much else to do to get much reading done during office hours. For me a lot of it is done either on the couch with a cat next to me or in the bathtub.

RVC: You’ve worked as a freelance editor for Pippin Properties and Penguin Random House. What was the most rewarding part of that work?

KB: Getting to work on a wide range of manuscripts all over the place in terms of their stages of publication, from proposal to proofreading.

RVC: Picture book texts are deceptively simple. What’s the most common issue you encountered when editing them?

KB: They have too many words—and/or they do too much “telling” without leaving enough room for the illustrator. Many of my suggestions are to move parts of the text into art notes or take them out entirely.

RVC: In your experience, what’s the hardest thing for picture book authors to get right?

KB: I’ve seen a lot of “picture book” manuscripts that I enjoyed, but didn’t think were really picture books. Just because a story is short, intended for a certain age audience, or illustrated doesn’t necessarily make it a picture book.

RVC: Totally been there. At Bushel & Peck, I sometimes have to alert an author that they’re wrong about what they think the manuscript is. Some don’t believe me when I say it.

KB: I feel the unique magic of picture books is that interplay where neither the text nor the art tells the complete story. I love when you can discover something new on each read. It’s like dance (my other big passion besides books): the music and the movement are each compelling individually, but they come together to make this incredible third thing that’s more than the sum of its parts.

RVC: You’ve worked on manuscripts from submission all the way to publication. What’s something about the picture book process that surprises most first-​time authors?

KB: How long everything takes, especially with picture books! Picture book deals we’re negotiating now are mostly for fall 2027 lists and onward.

RVC: Yep. We’re buying for 2028 now. I wish it weren’t the case! Now, what made you decide that agenting was the right next step in your career?

KB: Sara starting her own agency in 2023 and asking me to join her! At that point I’d been evaluating submissions and offering editorial suggestions on clients’ projects for about six years as part of my freelance work but had never considered agenting. I didn’t start taking on clients right away, but being invited to be the other half of Sara Crowe Literary is what made me feel like I could make that leap. It was both validating and somewhat daunting! But SCL is a great fit for me with my editorial background because Sara is such a hands-​on agent in terms of developing manuscripts and nurturing new authors as they grow in their craft.

About — Sara Crowe Literary

RVC: Now that you’ve stepped into agenting, what’s been the most exciting part so far? Anything that’s surprised you?

KB: It’s so exciting to connect with authors and artists at the beginning of what I believe will be a great career making lots of beautiful books. It’s been surprising how many hats an agent has to wear.

RVC: What’s the story behind your first picture book sale as an agent? How did that deal come together?

KB: I heard my now-​client Christal Presley read a manuscript at a Writing Barn event, requested to see it and any other projects, and then offered representation…and meanwhile, through the same program, editor Carter Hasegawa began mentoring Christal and fell in love with her brilliant PB bio about the first women to train in camouflage techniques. We submitted it formally and he offered, so Christal and her book were signed at basically the same time!

Hidden Women: How Louise Larned and Rose Stokes Became America’s First Women Camouflage Artists, illustrated by Ashley Yazdani, will be published by Candlewick in fall 2027.

RVC: Congrats! How did it feel when you got the offer? Did it match what you expected from your first deal, or were there surprises?

KB: It was very low-​key, and it took a long time for everything to be finalized after the initial flurry of activity. The “champagne pop” moment—even the moment that it felt like it was really happening—didn’t come until the announcement ran in Publishers Weekly.

RVC: Looking back, what’s something you learned from that first sale that will stick with you in your career?

KB: This is probably cliché, but: to stop and savor the moment. Fingers crossed, I will be helping many clients announce deals in Publishers Weekly, and agenting can feel hectic, with a lot of moving parts. I suspect it’s easy to get swept up in the next thing on the endless to-​do list, but I never want to lose the joy and awe of getting to help bring wonderful books for young readers into the world. It is often such a difficult industry, but it can be so fulfilling too.

RVC: You’ve worked alongside Sara Crowe for years. What have you learned from her about the business side of publishing?

KB: So much of what I’ve learned about agenting has come from shadowing Sara! I admire and aspire to show the kind of support, resiliency, and adaptability she offers clients through the inevitable rejections and challenges.

RVC: What’s a personal “wishlist” item that you’re dying to see in submissions?

KB: I love nonfiction picture books on fascinating topics that manage to be both informationally accurate and lyrical. It’s a tricky balance to strike. I’d like to see one about Salt, matriarch of the humpback whale population in the Gulf of Maine, who has been studied since the 1970s. I don’t know how salable it might be, but recently I’ve also been thinking I’d love to see a biography of the extraordinary medieval abbess, composer, artist, visionary, and saint Hildegard of Bingen! She’s so cool.

And if anybody does have a funny and sweet picture book project about an adorable ADHD cat daydreaming in ballet class…well, you know where to find me.

cat ballet dancer 16762596 Vector Art at Vecteezy

RVC: One last question for this part of the interview—what are you most excited about as you continue to build your list?

KB: I can’t wait to share these great books with my nephews and nieces!

RVC: Alrighty, Katie—it’s time for THE SPEED ROUND! Short questions, snappy answers. Ready?

KB: Let’s do it!

RVC: Your go-​to coffee shop order?

KB: Vanilla almond milk latte.

RVC: Favorite literary cat (other than your own, of course)?

KB: Mogget from Garth Nix’s The Old Kingdom series.

RVC: What’s a picture book you think deserves its own theme park ride?

KB: Strollercoaster seems too easy, so…the Best Frints series by Antoinette Portis.

RVC: If you could instantly master one new skill (bookish or not), what would it be?

KB: Cello. Or painting. Or flamenco dance. Or…

RVC: Best bookish gift you’ve ever received?

KB: A print from Sophie Blackall’s wonderfully weird adult book Missed Connections.

RVC: If you could give your past self a single piece of career advice, what would it be?

KB: Get comfortable with networking and developing collaborative relationships. It takes a village to make any book, and you have to put in the effort to nurture and support your village.

RVC: Thanks so much, Katie!

KB: Thanks for having me!

Agent Interview: Jessica Saint Jean (Root Literary)

On By Only Picture BooksIn Agent Interviews1 Comment

Jessica Saint Jean is a literary agent at Root Literary, where she’s on a mission to bring bold, narrative-​driven art to the forefront of children’s publishing. With nearly 15 years in the industry in a variety of roles, she knows the ins and outs of both storytelling and design. Jessica represents illustrators and author-​illustrators across formats like board books, picture books, middle grade, and graphic novels, and she’s all about finding projects that pair striking visuals with unforgettable stories.

Jessica’s sharp eye for expressive art and her knack for nurturing creative careers make her a standout advocate for her clients (I know this is true–I asked a few!). Known for her love of Airtable, color-​coded spreadsheets, and deep-​dive submission lists, she balances organization with boundless enthusiasm for great storytelling. In this interview, Jessica dishes on her career, her favorite projects, and what it takes to succeed in today’s competitive kidlit market.

Learn more about Jessica here:

RVC: You’ve worked in publishing for almost 15 years, first as an editor, then on the art side of things, and now as an agent. How have those roles shaped your approach to representing illustrators and authors?

JSJ: My time working in-​house at publishers informs just about everything I do as an agent. Though I was never actually an art director! At Candlewick, I worked in the Art Department but I had a pretty unique role – I wore many hats, but my primary responsibility was to coördinate illustrator commissions: after an editor acquired an author’s story for a book that would be illustrated (a picture book text for example), I would help select which artist Candlewick would hire to illustrate that book, and then negotiate the deal with the illustrator’s agent.

RVC: Oh, that’s interesting. I bet that gave you some great insight.

JSJ: Being part of that process searching for the perfect illustrator for a particular story gave me a lot of key insights into how I represent my clients and promote their work with publishers – from what type of information is helpful to share in email campaigns to helping my clients develop their portfolios.

And of course, negotiating many illustrator deals on behalf of the publisher gave me a lot of great intel now that I do the same thing from the other side of the desk!

RVC: How did your time at Barefoot Books and Candlewick Press influence your understanding of children’s publishing, particularly for illustrators?

JSJ: Barefoot is a small publisher, so beginning my career there gave me a great overview of all facets of children’s publishing – I was working in the same room as the Creative Director, the heads of sales and marketing, the CFO, etc. I kept my ears open and offered to help doing lots of different types of tasks that needed doing. It made my workload a little overwhelming but also taught me a lot! At larger companies, it can be harder to learn about what your colleagues are doing in different departments, and how their work impacts yours (and the bottom line). So that early role as an editor gave me experience in many corners of this business, which helps me guide my clients through lots of different situations.

And my time at Candlewick gave me a deep understanding of the market. To inform my work commissioning illustrators, I got to know every agent representing kidlit artists and each of their lists, met college students graduating from illustration programs, kept a close eye on all the key children’s lit awards, and, of course, read as many picture books as I could. It all helped hone my artistic tastes and commercial instincts.

RVC: Let’s talk about Root Literary. Why did you choose it, and how does it align with your vision for your clients?

JSJ: When I became an agent, I wanted to build a boutique list of illustrators at an agency that wasn’t currently representing illustrators so I had room to establish the look and feel of my list. But after several years working solo on so many aspects of my job, I realized I could grow my business (and my clients’ careers!) faster if I had colleagues who represented illustrators too.

Two agents at Root Literary, Molly O’Neill and Kurestin Armada, were already representing illustrators and I loved both of their lists. We have similar tastes without actually overlapping, so I felt my roster of illustrators would harmonize well with theirs. And I love Root’s approach to agenting – it’s very collaborative. So, I knocked on Holly Root’s proverbial door and was over the moon when she invited me to join the team.

RVC: What’s the story behind the first picture book you edited? 

JSJ: I started at Barefoot as an editorial intern and worked my way up, so I was initially supporting the other editors’ lists. The project that looms the largest in my mind all these years later is Barefoot Books World Atlas, which was an extraordinarily complex project to create! I will never forget that the day we finally sent it off to the printer was the same day South Sudan became an independent state. So… I started a list of reprint corrections before the book even hit the press. That might be a record?!

RVC: I bet it is! Now, how did this experience compare to the first picture book you repped as an agent?

JSJ: The first deal I closed as an agent was for Ashley Yazdani’s Cosmic Wonder: Halley’s Comet and Humankind, which, ironically, also takes a sweeping look at history and the earth. But thankfully with zero maps!

RVC: Let’s dig into the agenting side now. What’s a typical day like for you?

JSJ: It is super hard to describe a typical day as an agent because there are so many different facets to our job. And very, very often, what I spend all day doing isn’t necessarily what I planned to work on. We sometimes have to make quick pivots if time-​sensitive things come up, like a surprise offer on a book (yay, the best disruption!) or a sticky situation our clients need help navigating.

The easiest thing to say is that I spend a lot of time writing emails. So, so many emails!

RVC: That’s a popular answer, to be sure. What’s a misconception about picture books that you’d like to debunk?

JSJ: Picture book authors, you do not need to hire an artist to illustrate your book! In fact, I am begging you not to do this. Publishers like to pair illustrators with picture book texts themselves (see: my old job at Candlewick!) so most of the time, it’s actually detrimental to your book if you submit it with an illustrator already attached. (Unless, of course, you are an author-​illustrator planning to illustrate the book yourself.) It’s also better for the illustrator to be hired by the publisher, who can give them a share in the book’s royalties and handle all the accounting for that, etc. So, save yourself and everyone else the trouble!

RVC: For illustrators who also write, what unique challenges or opportunities do you see during the submission process?

JSJ: Sometimes an editor might love an author-illustrator’s art style but not connect as much with their story, or vice versa. An editor needs to love both to acquire a book. But the upside when editors pass on a submission but fall in love with one facet or another of a creator’s work, is that there’s usually an opportunity to follow that lead and connect on another project – even if it ultimately takes a while to get all the stars to align!

RVC: In another interview, you mentioned sometimes relying on “gut feelings” when matching projects to editors. Can you share an instance when your intuition paid off in a big way?

JSJ: One of the first submissions I sent out as an agent was a very special book, Lonely Bird by Ruth Whiting. It’s whimsical and sensitive, warm and hopeful but also a little melancholy, and the art is absolutely incredible (realistic oil paintings with paper collage) but a far cry from the digital styles that are very on trend right now. So, in short: it’s an amazing book but I worried it wasn’t going to be an easy sell. I knew I had to get it in front of the right editor, someone who would really “get” this story creatively and who would also know how to position it in the market so readers would understand it too.

I was still getting to know a lot of editors, so I did a ton of research while building my submission list. But when a book is doing something pretty different than what’s out there, you can only connect the dots so much – ultimately you have to trust your instincts. And I knew exactly who I was going to share Lonely Bird with at Candlewick from the jump: Mary Lee Donovan. She’s a brilliant editor and I had a good feeling that she was going to see the same magic in Ruth’s debut that I did. And happily, I was right! She made an offer not only for Lonely Bird, but two sequels as well, at lightning speed. She’s been an incredible partner to help bring Ruth’s vision to life.

RVC: That’s a great success story. Now, you recently launched a newsletter. Care to share what and why?

JSJ: There are a lot of smart people who are sharing their knowledge of the publishing industry in various places (including here!), but I’ve found there isn’t quite as much out there specifically for children’s book illustrators. I wanted to help contribute to that knowledge pool, but I didn’t want to do it on traditional social media platforms run by algorithms. I was intrigued by substack (I used to love blogs back in the day) and wanted to learn more about it. And I figured, what better way to do that than to start a newsletter myself? I’m still finding my rhythm with writing posts but I really love that corner of the internet.

RVC: Best of luck with the newsletter! One final question for this part of the interview. What are some upcoming client projects that you’re really excited about?

JSJ: Oooh, I love this question! I cannot wait for The Dinosaur Seed by Lindsey Yankey to hit shelves this summer. It’s such a unique book – the story is told completely through the dialogue of four kids as they play pretend at the park, almost like a short play. I really want to do a dramatic reading of it with a few of my friends each voicing one of the characters. And the art is absolutely exquisite. I think kids are going to love it.

I’m also super excited about Floor It, written by Bex Tobin Fine and illustrated by my client Federico Fabiani. It transforms a baby’s ordinary crawl across the floor into a racecar-​themed adventure, with lots of clever wordplay and mesmerizing, slightly surreal art. I’m a huge Formula 1 fan so love all the racecar jokes.

And last but not least, my client Hayden Goodman illustrated a fabulous new take on The Night Before Christmas, which is coming out this fall. It’s set in a NYC apartment building, and it’s funny and sweet and absolutely gorgeous. There are lush cutaways of all the different families’ homes with tons of little details to discover, and Santa has a fresh look and a magnificent magical pipe.

RVC: Alright, thanks for that–best of luck with all of those projects. But now…it’s time for the LIGHTNING ROUND. Let’s zip through questions and zap in those answers. Are you ready, Jessica? 

JSJ: Ready!

RVC: What’s the most Virgo thing you do every day?

JSJ: Ha! So many answers to this, but the #1 thing may be the way I tag almost every single email I send/​receive with myriad color-​coded labels.

RVC: What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve ever used Airtable for?

JSJ: Gardening! I have a base where I track all the perennials I grow in my yard, the care instructions, when they bloomed each year, etc. It’s ridiculous but also fun. I call it my “recreational spreadsheet.”

RVC: How many projects can illustrators juggle without losing it?

JSJ: This depends on the illustrator. Though I try to encourage my clients to have only 2 new picture books publish per year, max. For lots of reasons, but workload chief among them.

RVC: A picture book from 2024 with underappreciated-​but-​awesome art?

JSJ: I have to mention Lonely Bird again, because the second book in the series, Lonely Bird’s Dream has the most incredible art. Ruth’s process is fascinating – she paints in oil, which is its own special feat, but she also creates all her illustrations in real life and photographs them as references for her paintings. Which means she’s literally built all the flying contraptions that Lonely Bird builds in the story, and she spends a lot of time lying on the floor taking photos from Lonely Bird height. She did a few interviews talking about her process that I recommend checking out!

RVC: If your life were illustrated as a picture book, what would the title and art style be?

JSJ: I’m very bad at brainstorming good titles in real life (I desperately wish I were better at this!) so whatever I came up with myself, the editor would probably gently suggest we change, haha. I don’t know if I could choose just one art style! I would need someone else to spearhead the illustrator search for my own book. Doctors are the worst patients, and all that.

RVC: What’s your favorite quotation about agenting, publishing, or writing kidlit?

JSJ: “Tell them stories….That’s what nourishes them. You must tell them true stories, and everything will be well, everything. Just tell them stories.” from The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (my all-​time favorite book!)

RVC: Thanks so much, Jessica!